Fractured Lands
How the Arab World Came Apart
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Narrated by:
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Scott Anderson
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By:
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Scott Anderson
About this listen
From the best-selling author of Lawrence in Arabia, a piercing account of how the contemporary Arab world came to be riven by catastrophe since the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq.
In 2011 a series of antigovernment uprisings shook the Middle East and North Africa in what would become known as the Arab Spring. Few could predict that these convulsions, initially hailed in the West as a triumph of democracy, would give way to brutal civil war, the terrors of the Islamic State, and a global refugee crisis.
But, as New York Times best-selling author Scott Anderson shows, the seeds of catastrophe had been sown long before. In this gripping account, Anderson examines the myriad complex causes of the region's profound unraveling, tracing the ideological conflicts of the present to their origins in the United States invasion of Iraq in 2003 and beyond. From this investigation emerges a rare view into a land in upheaval through the eyes of six individuals - the matriarch of a dissident Egyptian family; a Libyan Air Force cadet with divided loyalties; a Kurdish physician from a prominent warrior clan; a Syrian university student caught in civil war; an Iraqi activist for women's rights; and an Iraqi day laborer turned ISIS fighter.
A probing and insightful work of reportage, Fractured Lands offers a penetrating portrait of the contemporary Arab world and brings the stunning realities of an unprecedented geopolitical tragedy into crystalline focus.
©2017 Scott Anderson (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
Editors Select, May 2017
In a previous job, I had the privilege of interacting with Scott Anderson from time to time. Whenever he delivered a new story, I promptly stopped what I was doing to read it (sorry old boss!). When I saw Fractured Lands in the pipeline, and that Scott was narrating (he has a great phone voice...), I jumped at the chance to listen. What Scott does best is take a complex story and create an immediately compelling - and above all human - narrative. He does just this in Fractured Lands by profiling six men and women from six Arab countries and tying their tales into the overarching story of the decades-long turmoil in the Middle East and the ultimate breaking point with the Arab Spring. Incredibly detailed, enlightening, and utterly human, this is Scott Anderson at his best. —Katie, Audible Editor
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At the heart of Africa is Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, bordering nine other nations, that since 1996 has been wracked by a brutal and unstaunchable war in which millions have died. And yet, despite its epic proportions, it has received little sustained media attention. In this deeply reported book, Jason K. Stearns vividly tells the story of this misunderstood conflict through the experiences of those who engineered and perpetrated it.
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First book I've found that explains DRC
- By Amazon Customer on 09-09-17
By: Jason Stearns
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The Lemon Tree
- By: Sandy Tolan
- Narrated by: Sandy Tolan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly 20 years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.
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Steeping The Lemon Tree
- By Faithfull Fan on 04-11-18
By: Sandy Tolan
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We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families
- Stories from Rwanda
- By: Philip Gourevitch
- Narrated by: Philip Gourevitch
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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An unforgettable firsthand account of a people's response to genocide and what it tells us about humanity. This remarkable audiobook chronicles what has happened in Rwanda and neighboring states since 1994, when the Rwandan government called on everyone in the Hutu majority to murder everyone in the Tutsi minority.
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Things you'd never imagine
- By LEE on 12-27-19
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Prague Winter
- A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948
- By: Madeleine Albright
- Narrated by: Madeleine Albright
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Before Madeleine Albright turned twelve, her life was shaken by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia—the country where she was born—the Battle of Britain, the near total destruction of European Jewry, the Allied victory in World War II, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War. Albright's experiences, and those of her family, provide a lens through which to view the most tumultuous dozen years in modern history.
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History from a Personal Perspective
- By Jeanette Finan on 02-22-13
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A Rage for Order
- The Middle East in Turmoil, from Tahrir Square to ISIS
- By: Robert Worth
- Narrated by: Will Damron, Robert Worth
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2011 a wave of revolution spread through the Middle East as protesters demanded an end to tyranny, corruption, and economic decay. From Egypt to Yemen, a generation of young Arabs insisted on a new ethos of common citizenship. Five years later their utopian aspirations have taken on a darker cast as old divides reemerge and deepen. In one country after another, brutal terrorists and dictators have risen to the top.
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What a mess!
- By Art Guzman on 01-19-17
By: Robert Worth
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Cambodia
- Report From a Stricken Land
- By: Henry Kamm
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Based on his observations over three decades, Henry Kamm, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Southeast Asia correspondent, unravels the complexities of Cambodia. Kamm's invaluable document - a factual and personal account of its troubled history - gives the Western listener the first clear understanding of this magic land's past and present.
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A Solid Introduction, but Somewhat Dated
- By Christopher on 04-21-15
By: Henry Kamm
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Goliath
- Life and Loathing in Greater Israel
- By: Max Blumenthal
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In Goliath, New York Times best-selling author Max Blumenthal takes us on a journey through the badlands and high roads of Israel-Palestine, painting a startling portrait of Israeli society under the siege of increasingly authoritarian politics as the occupation of the Palestinians deepens. Beginning with the national elections carried out during Israel's war on Gaza in 2008/9, which brought into power the country's most right-wing government to date, Blumenthal tells the story of Israel in the wake of the collapse of the Oslo peace process.
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The truth is rarely pretty
- By William on 10-15-13
By: Max Blumenthal
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Inside ISIS
- The Brutal Rise of a Terrorist Army
- By: Benjamin Hall
- Narrated by: Chris Kayser
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Despite numerous warnings from intelligence services, ISIS' rise to power has left countries around the world floundering for solutions. Today we face a threat that is more violent, more powerful, and financially stronger than ever before. In this audiobook journalist Benjamin Hall will provide insights by answering the basic questions we still don't have the answers to: Who are they? Where did they come from? How are they so successful so quickly? How can they be stopped?
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Exciting yet profoundly sad
- By jeanne sumstine on 12-13-15
By: Benjamin Hall
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Operation Nemesis
- The Assassination Plot That Avenged the Armenian Genocide
- By: Eric Bogosian
- Narrated by: Eric Bogosian
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1921 a small group of self-appointed patriots set out to avenge the deaths of almost one million victims of the Armenian Genocide. They named their operation Nemesis after the Greek goddess of retribution. Over several years the men tracked down and assassinated former Turkish leaders. The story of this secret operation has never been fully told until now.
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Avenging Turkish Denial with Reason
- By PKsweets on 05-12-15
By: Eric Bogosian
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Midnight's Furies
- The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition
- By: Nisid Hajari
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Nobody expected the liberation of India and birth of Pakistan to be so bloody - it was supposed to be an answer to the dreams of Muslims and Hindus who had been ruled by the British for centuries. Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi's protégé and the political leader of India, believed that Indians were an inherently nonviolent, peaceful people. Pakistan's founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was a secular lawyer, not a firebrand.
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Amazingly detailed account of this tragedy i gigan
- By BG on 10-09-15
By: Nisid Hajari
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The People's Republic of Amnesia
- Tiananmen Revisited
- By: Louisa Lim
- Narrated by: Louisa Lim
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In The People's Republic of Amnesia, NPR correspondent Louisa Lim charts how the events of June 4 changed China, and how China changed the events of June 4 by rewriting its own history. Lim reveals new details about those fateful days, including how one of the country's most senior politicians lost a family member to an army bullet, as well as the inside story of the young soldiers sent to clear Tiananmen Square.
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great book and recording
- By Robert Peters on 06-14-16
By: Louisa Lim
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No Good Men Among the Living
- America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes
- By: Anand Gopal
- Narrated by: Assaf Cohen
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In a breathtaking chronicle, acclaimed journalist Anand Gopal traces in vivid detail the lives of three Afghans caught in America's war on terror. He follows a Taliban commander who rises from scrawny teenager to leading insurgent, a U.S.-backed warlord who uses the American military to gain personal wealth and power, and a village housewife trapped between the two sides who discovers the devastating cost of neutrality.
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Outstanding book, remarkable narrator
- By captainramius on 04-05-19
By: Anand Gopal
What listeners say about Fractured Lands
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- becky robbins
- 05-05-17
Timely and a must to listen to!
While disturbing this was very enlightening and I see how tribalism on any scale can create stifled beliefs and no exposure to outside influence. This becomes ripe for corruption.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 05-26-17
insightful
Nice to read about a problem from an insider's perspective. Heart wrenching. So glaring the opportunities we have here in America and the safety we enjoy.
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- Karl W. Schmiedeskamp
- 08-20-17
FRACTURED STORY
Fractured story . Hard to flow from charictor to charictor. plight of characters. well drawn.
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- elhorte
- 10-05-18
Engaging & illuminating glimpse into another world
A startling look into the chaos one century after the Ottomans. What a mess the (collective) we made. Enjoyed having the author narrate.
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- Amaya
- 09-05-18
Excellent objective perspective
I really enjoyed listening to this book. Even though I am from the Middle East I learned a lot from Scott Anderson‘s perspective on the region; I looked at my homeland through his eyes and I learned a lot from him.
I think this book should be a must read for everyone to understand the conflict of that region because it’s affecting Europe and the United States.
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- Aradgirl
- 10-27-23
Interesting and educational, but not what I expected
The author does an excellent job of relating the personal of several middle eastern individuals experiences to historical and contemporary conditions in the region. Extrapolating from his writing, I have drawn the conclusion that there is little hope for a lasting peaceful situation for the region!
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